skeleton

1. 1. The internal structure composed of bone and cartilage that protects and supports the soft organs, tissues, and other parts of a vertebrate organism; endoskeleton.
   2. The hard external supporting and protecting structure in many invertebrates, such as mollusks and crustaceans, and certain vertebrates, such as turtles; exoskeleton.
2. A supporting structure or framework, as of a building.
3. An outline or sketch.
4. Something reduced to its basic or minimal parts.
5. One that is very thin or emaciated.

1. Of, relating to, or resembling a skeleton.
2. Reduced to the basic or minimal parts or members: a skeleton crew.

skeleton in (one's) closet

1. A source of shame or disgrace, as in a family, that is kept secret.

[Greek skeleton (sōma), dried-up (body), neuter of skeletos, from skellesthai, to dry up.]

(click to enlarge)
Major bones of the human skeleton. (credit: © Merriam-Webster Inc.)

Bony framework of the body. It includes the skull, vertebral column, collarbone, shoulder blades, rib cage, pelvic girdle and the bones of the hands, arms, feet, and legs. The skeleton supports the body and protects its internal organs. It is held together by ligaments and moved at the joints by the muscles, which are attached to it. The skeletal system includes both bones and cartilage.

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noun

A preliminary plan or version, as of a written work: draft, outline, rough, sketch. See planned/unplanned, words.

Definition: animate structure of bones
Antonyms: carcass

Personification of Death, common in funerary architecture.

Bibliography

• E. P. Weber (1914)

The full bibliography for this book is available to download as a pdf file.
Download the bibliography for A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (PDF: 1.2MB)

The stiff, hardened tissues forming the supporting framework of an animal body.

• appendicular s. — the bones of the limbs.
• axial s. — the skull, spine, ribs and sternum.
• visceral s. — 1. the skeleton that forms part of an organ such as the os penis or os cordis.
— 2. the bony framework that protects the viscera, such as the sternum, ribs or pelvis.
• s. weed — see lygodesmia juncea.

A dream about a skeleton is often about death or something within us that has died. Like ancient ruins, a skeleton can symbolize the past, too. Also note the familiar idiom about the "skeleton in the closet."

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Animated skeletons in a woodcut from La Danse Macabre by Hans Holbein the Younger (1538).

A Skeleton is a type of physically manifested undead often found in fantasy, gothic and horror fiction, and mythical art. Most are human skeletons, but they can also be from any creature or race found on Earth or in the fantasy world.

Myth and folklore

• Death personified: Animated human skeletons are known to have personified death in Western culture since the Middle Ages. The Grim Reaper is often depicted as a hooded skeleton holding a scythe (and occasionally an hourglass), which has been attributed to Hans Holbein the Younger (1538). Death as one of the biblical horsemen of the Apocalypse has been depicted as a skeleton riding a horse. The Triumph of Death is a 1562 painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder depicting an army of skeletons raiding a town and slaughtering everyone.
• Day of the Dead: Figurines and images of skeletons doing routine things are common in Mexico's Day of the Dead celebration where skulls symbolize life and their familiar circumstances invite levity.
• The Boy Who Wanted the Willies is Brothers Grimm (German) fairy tale in which a boy named Hans joins a circle of dancing skeletons.
• Mekurabe are the rolling skulls with eyeballs who menaced Taira no Kiyomori in Japanese folklore.

Modern fiction

Hanging skeletons liven up the ceiling of one of the side corridors of the main hall of the Natural History Museum of London.

The animated skeleton featured in some Gothic fiction. Probably its most terrifying appearance was in "Thurnley Abbey" (1908) by Perceval Landon, originally published in his short story collection Raw Edges. It is reprinted in many modern anthologies, such as The 2nd Fontana Book of Great Ghost Stories and The Penguin Book of Horror Stories.

Undead skeletons play a more active, and less symbolic, role in modern fantasy fiction. Skeletons might be given 'life' by a more powerful undead or necromancer. When raised by another, skeletons are a mindless set of animated bones, brutal and virtually immune to a piercing attack that would only harm the flesh they lack. In many stories, legions of undead skeletons are raised as perfectly obedient and expendable foot-soldiers or guards. Unlike zombies, skeletons are rarely portrayed as self-directing or independently mobile. Since most skeletons are controlled by another source, they cannot make their own intelligent decisions, and can easily be led into ambushes, traps, or hazardous terrain. Fairly weak individually, their strength lies in numbers, like zombies. Unlike zombies skeletons are often shown using melee weapons for combat and sometimes even shields.

In old cartoons and old dark rides, a running gag personifies the old saying 'skeletons in the closet' by actual skeletons in the closet.

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - skelet, benbygning, benrad, dødning
adj. - dødninge

idioms:

• skeleton in the closet    familiehemmelighed
• skeleton in the cupboard    familiehemmelighed
• skeleton key    hovednøgle, dirk

Nederlands (Dutch)
skelet, geraamte, structuur, minimaal

Français (French)
n. - (Anat, Constr) squelette, (fig) grandes lignes
adj. - (fig) réduit au strict minimum, minimum (un service)

idioms:

• skeleton in the closet    (US, fig) (avoir) un cadavre dans le placard
• skeleton in the cupboard    (GB, fig) (avoir) un cadavre dans le placard
• skeleton key    passe-partout

Deutsch (German)
n. - Skelett, Gerippe, Gerüst
adj. - Skelett...

idioms:

• skeleton in the closet    Leiche im Keller
• skeleton in the cupboard    Leiche im Keller
• skeleton key    Dietrich

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (ανατ., μτφ.) σκελετός

idioms:

• skeleton in the closet    (καθομ.) ένοχο μυστικό, κρυφή αμαρτία/ντροπή
• skeleton in the cupboard    (καθομ.) ένοχο μυστικό, κρυφή αμαρτία/ντροπή
• skeleton key    αντικλείδι, πασπαρτού

Italiano (Italian)
scheletro

idioms:

• skeleton in the cupboard/closet    scheletro nell'armadio
• skeleton key    chiave maestra

Português (Portuguese)
n. - esqueleto (m) carcaça (f), esboço (m)

idioms:

• skeleton in the cupboard/closet    segredo (m) vergonhoso de família
• skeleton key    chave (f) mestra

Русский (Russian)
скелет, "кожа да кости", остов, схема, набросок, что-л. сведенное к минимуму

idioms:

• skeleton in the cupboard/closet    тайна, тщательно скрываемая от посторонних
• skeleton key    отмычка

Español (Spanish)
n. - esqueleto, armazón, estructura
adj. - en esqueleto

idioms:

• skeleton in the closet    vergüenza de la familia, secreto de familia
• skeleton in the cupboard    vergüenza de la familia, secreto de familia
• skeleton key    llave maestra, ganzúa

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - skelett, benstomme, benbyggnad

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
骨骼, 梗概, 瘦如柴的人, 骨骼的, 概略的, 骨瘦如柴的, 最基本的

idioms:

• skeleton in the closet    不可告人的丑事
• skeleton in the cupboard    不可告人的丑事
• skeleton key    万能钥匙

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 骨骼, 梗概, 瘦如柴的人
adj. - 骨骼的, 概略的, 骨瘦如柴的, 最基本的

idioms:

• skeleton in the closet    不可告人的醜事
• skeleton in the cupboard    不可告人的醜事
• skeleton key    萬能鑰匙

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 골격, (문예 작품의) 개요, 잔해
adj. - 해골의, 최소한의, 개략의

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 骨格, 骸骨, やつれた人, 骨組, 形骸, 骨子, 必要最小限のもの
adj. - 骸骨の, 概略の

idioms:

• skeleton in the cupboard/closet    一家の秘密
• skeleton key    合い鍵

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) هيكل عظمي, شخص أو حيوان نحيل جدا, فضيحه تبقى طي ألكتمان‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮שלד, מסגרת, שלד-אדם‬
adj. - ‮כחוש, מצומצם, מינימלי‬

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